I loved fountain pens! The write so smooth. I remember both the kind with the lever you pulled to suck up the ink, and the ones with the ink cartridge.

It's Been a long time but I think we had to use them in school.

We used "cartridge pens", which were similar to fountain pens but the ink came in cartridges so you did not need a bottle of ink. It was an exciting time, a big deal when you had a teacher that let you use ink that wasn't black or blue.

Peacock Blue ink made all writing pretty!

I use fountain pens almost exclusively. I love them! My handwriting just seems to be much better with them.

I recently bought these:

When I opened this thread- I immediately thought of my father writing with peacock blue ink and his beautiful fountain pen, slurping up ink with the little lever on the pen, ink cartridges, blue ink stains on my fingers, sometimes ink all over desks, faces, ink blotters. Also a vague hazy memory about getting in trouble for squashing ink cartridges. Didn't the points-nibs- have to be replaced occasionally?

I noticed those varsity pens when i was shopping over Christmas. Thanks for reminding me.

Unfortunately, fountain pens are only for righties. I remember my mother using one for years and years; she had been forced to write with her right hand as a child so it worked for her. Wish I could use one!

The first few sentences of sheilajoyce's post sat me right smack dab down in my school seat of many years ago. I could see it as easily as I can see my computer right now. I used the kind of pen that had the lever to slurp up the ink.

I still use a fountain pen (the kind that uses cartridges - I'm not brave enough to use bottled ink - WAY too messy!) when I write a condolence note, or reply to a wedding invitation. It just seems "right" with good, engraved stationary (I adore Smythson!).

I remember Peacock Blue ink -- an old favorite.

Your pack of pens looks great. I've heard good things about them.

I had the kind with the lever that you opened to add ink. I think I used the one with cartridges too,

According to what I heard, if you are careful the nibs should last for a long time.

There are some great You Tube videos about fountain pens.

Oh, yes! Peacock Blue ink in my Esterbrook Fountain pen- what a fun blast from the past!

Yes, I remember fountain pens and the teacher's disdain for ball points. I've used fountain pens and had them run out ink at worst possible times like in the middle of a note taking session.

Fountain pens and air travel did not mix well as neophyte travelers found. Many ruined their shirt if they had a fountain pen clipped in a shirt pocket. The drop in pressure as the plane rose made some pens to push out ink. After reaching altitude, there was that embarrassing ink blot on the shirt pocket and not a napkin in sight.

I love fountain pens and actually have a couple but don't use them very often. I'll have to look for those varsity pens. Thanks for the recommendation. I also used to do calligraphy, which is probably a lost art now with computer graphics available to anyone.

I'm old enough to remember using cartridge pens. Maybe one or two other kids had them. Ball points had already won out.

OutsidePlaying (love your name), I think there will always be people interested in fancy, decorative writing. But yeah, alot of them will figure out how to do it on a computer screen.

I remember using them, and filling them with dark blue ink. I haven't used a fountain pen for decades, and in fact recently sold on eBay a quill-pen set. Even when I do calligraphy (rarely), I use calligraphy markers instead of pen-and-ink.

I have fun with handwriting, but for me the smoothest tool is a decent gel click pen.

Peacock Blue Ink!!!! What a blast from the past. I vividly remember using a cartridge pen with peacock blue ink when I was in high school. Thanks for bringing that memory to mind!!!

I took an art class in college where we made ink and used a turkey quill for a pen!! That was so much fun. We also make charcoal from willow branches and made drawings with them. Loved it.

South sea blue was my favorite color in 5th grade. This was before the cartridges came out, so we filled our lever type fountain pens directly from the glass ink jar.

I remember using them in school, and I remember about the 3rd grade, Roger Brown drinking ink. I can still see him, in my mind's eye, with ink all around his mouth. Gosh. I hadn't thought of that in years!

Did a little Googling. Seems first ball point pens were invented in the 1880-90s. First patent was during/before/after WWII. I still have quite a few years to go before being officially an "antique" but remember wooden desks in elementary school with hole at one corner to hold an ink jar/bottle. We practiced our CURSIVE writing with nib pens... not George Washington style quill pens, so stop laughing. Point like a fountain pen but had to be dipped in ink bottle whenever it ran dry... same thing you'd use for pen & ink drawings or calligraphy. I'm sure part of the reason for that was cost of fountain pens, even the cheapest, would have been prohibitive... WAY before days when parents got a list of supplies they HAD to provide for their kids. By the time I got to HS, pretty sure BIC had cornered the market on inexpensive, disposable pens. I remember a boy in my class whose Dad was a big shot "businessman" who frequently went to NYC. This kid made a killing selling felt tip pens that weren't readily available in the burbs.

I vividly remember elementary teachers with probably the first "magic markers". They were little glass jars that could be refilled, and screw on lid with wick-like thing coming out of a metal tube to write with. They were an absolute "teacher only" tool.

This post brought back memories. I remember ink wells and the scratchy metal nib pens. I never got the hang of it. Ink messes everywhere, fingers, face, desk, clothes. Big globs on the paper. I was so glad when cartridge pens came out. Even happier when we started using modern pens like BIC.